Splashing With Experts

Having the rare and distinct opportunity of going fossil hunting with a group of paleo-people led to a fun, wet and tiring day.

We were on the lookout for Crinoids. They are a 33-34 million year old species that lived in a deep water ocean trench. Crinoids look much like a sea lily with long fronds that grow small feather-like structures, however Crinoids are an ocean animal.

The ends of the fronds show like pin holes along a ridge in base of the river. When I first saw them, I though that the row of holes looked like itty-bitty ants had been very busy. Finding this ‘tell’ is a slow process and leads to many trips without a single fossil.

A careful excavation site begins and  the piece of river bottom(this step could take several hours) is removed from the water where it is then split open to show what secrets are inside.

I was thrilled when I saw a good portion of an actual Crinoid, the darker area in the middle of the top half showed the animal’s brain. The orange/brown color on the bottom half of the split rock show that this rock has already fractured and river water has begun the erosion process. Within a couple of years this fossil would have been worn down to sand.

The group that I was with are serious about fossils and nature. They are concerned about private property and this day of hunting was possible only by following collecting rules for the State of Oregon and the land owner.

Fossils that were collected will eventually end up with educational collections at a university or college. This group specifically works with the University of Alaska, Oregon State University and University of Oregon.